bulb questions
 

A friend bought too many tulip, daffodil, hyacinth, etc, bulbs last fall
and never got them planted. They have been stored in the basement and are
beginning to sprout.

Solution?

Can we plant them in potting soil and expect them to bloom this spring?

If we let the plants do their thing, can we dig them up and relocate them
to the garden and expect then to give us many more years of growth and
beauty?

This is not exactly like forcing bulbs. There must be a way to salvage
them before considering the composter.

Thanks.

bulb questions
 

"C" wrote in message
...
A friend bought too many tulip, daffodil, hyacinth, etc, bulbs last fall
and never got them planted. They have been stored in the basement and are
beginning to sprout.

Solution?

Can we plant them in potting soil and expect them to bloom this spring?

Yes, plant them about 4-5 inches in the pots of potting soil and put the
pots outside in a sunny spot to finish up the winter. You can even put mulch
around the pots and on top if you want to. The emerging shoots will be fine.

If we let the plants do their thing, can we dig them up and relocate them
to the garden and expect then to give us many more years of growth and
beauty?

The tulips will bloom again next year if you give them a little bulb food
and when you plant them in the ground, mix in some small pea gravel. Good
drainage is important for tulips. You didn't say where you are, but here in
the southeast, not all tulips return after the third year. But with the huge
variety of bulbs available now, a lot of them do. Once they bloom in the
pots, clip off the blossoms, leave the leaves alone, and plug the soil and
bulbs and all into places in your garden, planting them two inches deeper in
the ground than in the pots. Next year they will return at the proper time.
Come fall, sprinkle a little bulb food where you have them planted and it
will feed them and ready them for next spring.

This is not exactly like forcing bulbs. There must be a way to salvage
them before considering the composter.

Do the above, you'll have neat flowers to enjoy, and once you plant them,
let them do their cycle where they die back by summer and you'll be
pleasantly surprised when they pop back up next spring at the right time.
Mark the spot so you'll know where they are come fall when you give them
granulated bulb food, though. It helps.

madgardener whose done that very thing with her extra bulbs and is what I'm
doing with the extra's I planted in those three window boxes a few weeks
ago. I can't wait'! and after they're done, I will have these 36 inch
plugs of all sorts of bulbs to tuck into spots g

Thanks.

bulb questions
 

On Sat, 17 Jan 2004 18:19:32 -0500, madgardener wrote:


"C" wrote in message
...
A friend bought too many tulip, daffodil, hyacinth, etc, bulbs last fall
and never got them planted. They have been stored in the basement and are
beginning to sprout.

Solution?

Can we plant them in potting soil and expect them to bloom this spring?

Yes, plant them about 4-5 inches in the pots of potting soil and put the
pots outside in a sunny spot to finish up the winter. You can even put mulch
around the pots and on top if you want to. The emerging shoots will be fine.

If we let the plants do their thing, can we dig them up and relocate them
to the garden and expect then to give us many more years of growth and
beauty?

The tulips will bloom again next year if you give them a little bulb food
and when you plant them in the ground, mix in some small pea gravel. Good
drainage is important for tulips. You didn't say where you are, but here in
the southeast, not all tulips return after the third year. But with the huge
variety of bulbs available now, a lot of them do. Once they bloom in the
pots, clip off the blossoms, leave the leaves alone, and plug the soil and
bulbs and all into places in your garden, planting them two inches deeper in
the ground than in the pots. Next year they will return at the proper time.
Come fall, sprinkle a little bulb food where you have them planted and it
will feed them and ready them for next spring.

This is not exactly like forcing bulbs. There must be a way to salvage
them before considering the composter.

Do the above, you'll have neat flowers to enjoy, and once you plant them,
let them do their cycle where they die back by summer and you'll be
pleasantly surprised when they pop back up next spring at the right time.
Mark the spot so you'll know where they are come fall when you give them
granulated bulb food, though. It helps.

madgardener whose done that very thing with her extra bulbs and is what I'm
doing with the extra's I planted in those three window boxes a few weeks
ago. I can't wait'! and after they're done, I will have these 36 inch
plugs of all sorts of bulbs to tuck into spots g

Thanks.

Thank you for suggestions.

By the way, I'm in the land of ice and snow, the land of cheeseheads, the
land of the Pack: Wisconsin!

bulb questions
 

Thanks.

Thank you for suggestions.

By the way, I'm in the land of ice and snow, the land of cheeseheads, the
land of the Pack: Wisconsin!


ok, you don't have to mix any pebbles in with your tulips. You have sandy,
glacial soil right? Well tulips have been bred in Holland, despite that
they originally came from Turkey. It's been so long since tulips hailed
from Turkey, they wouldn't know how to act if we replicated the conditions.
But getting past all that...............you have sandy soil. Throw in some
bulb food when you plant those plugs, and mark the spots so you can find
them in the fall and sprinkle some more bulb food over those areas again adn
you'll have better luck at your tulips than I do here in Eastern Tennessee
where I plant mine in raised soil above the red clay.............
madgardener, zone 7, Sunset zone 36, East Tennessee (I love cheese, a LOT
g)

bulb questions
 

I got a bowl full of bulbs and going to do the same thing. no excuse I didnt get em
in the ground, we had nice warm fall but I am running out of room for bulbs outside.
sigh. Ingrid (also in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, getting another cold blast)


C wrote:
By the way, I'm in the land of ice and snow, the land of cheeseheads, the
land of the Pack: Wisconsin!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

bulb questions
 

northern Wisconsin has sandy soil, southern has clay and valleys with black rich
loam. Ingrid

"madgardener" wrote:

Thanks.

Thank you for suggestions.

By the way, I'm in the land of ice and snow, the land of cheeseheads, the
land of the Pack: Wisconsin!


ok, you don't have to mix any pebbles in with your tulips. You have sandy,
glacial soil right? Well tulips have been bred in Holland, despite that
they originally came from Turkey. It's been so long since tulips hailed
from Turkey, they wouldn't know how to act if we replicated the conditions.
But getting past all that...............you have sandy soil. Throw in some
bulb food when you plant those plugs, and mark the spots so you can find
them in the fall and sprinkle some more bulb food over those areas again adn
you'll have better luck at your tulips than I do here in Eastern Tennessee
where I plant mine in raised soil above the red clay.............
madgardener, zone 7, Sunset zone 36, East Tennessee (I love cheese, a LOT
g)




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

bulb questions
 

On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 10:06:53 -0500, madgardener wrote:

(I
love cheese, a LOT g)

Just finished some 12-yr old cheddar. Exquisite. It did not even come
close to some 28-yr old cheddar I had in the early 80's. That taste was
beyond description, a once-in-a-lifetime tastebud thrill. Grocery store
variety of aged cheddar is usually 4 years. I think there are laws
against molesting 4-yr olds cheese, at least there should be.

bulb questions
 

On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 16:05:23 +0000, dr-solo wrote:

northern Wisconsin has sandy soil, southern has clay and valleys with
black rich loam. Ingrid

For the most part, yes. Developers tend to scrape away the good soil,
build ugly structures and then put back just enough marginal soil back to
cover their messes and to support grass.

Most Wisconsin gardeners in these parts spend their days reclaiming the
land and rebuilding the soil to where it again can sustain life. The
challenge is even greater when the development is on an old tired
cornfield.

bulb questions
 

Eegads.. I just remembered I left my unplanted bulbs in the shed. They are
going to be frozen solid with no soil or moisture to protect them.... Do I
bring them indoors just long enough to pot them up or what? Anyone ever
recover these kinds of forgotten bulbs?
DKat
"madgardener" wrote in message
...

"C" wrote in message
...
A friend bought too many tulip, daffodil, hyacinth, etc, bulbs last fall
and never got them planted. They have been stored in the basement and
are
beginning to sprout.

Solution?

Can we plant them in potting soil and expect them to bloom this spring?

Yes, plant them about 4-5 inches in the pots of potting soil and put the
pots outside in a sunny spot to finish up the winter. You can even put
mulch
around the pots and on top if you want to. The emerging shoots will be
fine.

If we let the plants do their thing, can we dig them up and relocate
them
to the garden and expect then to give us many more years of growth and
beauty?

The tulips will bloom again next year if you give them a little bulb food
and when you plant them in the ground, mix in some small pea gravel. Good
drainage is important for tulips. You didn't say where you are, but here
in
the southeast, not all tulips return after the third year. But with the
huge
variety of bulbs available now, a lot of them do. Once they bloom in the
pots, clip off the blossoms, leave the leaves alone, and plug the soil and
bulbs and all into places in your garden, planting them two inches deeper
in
the ground than in the pots. Next year they will return at the proper
time.
Come fall, sprinkle a little bulb food where you have them planted and it
will feed them and ready them for next spring.

This is not exactly like forcing bulbs. There must be a way to salvage
them before considering the composter.

Do the above, you'll have neat flowers to enjoy, and once you plant them,
let them do their cycle where they die back by summer and you'll be
pleasantly surprised when they pop back up next spring at the right time.
Mark the spot so you'll know where they are come fall when you give them
granulated bulb food, though. It helps.

madgardener whose done that very thing with her extra bulbs and is what
I'm
doing with the extra's I planted in those three window boxes a few weeks
ago. I can't wait'! and after they're done, I will have these 36 inch
plugs of all sorts of bulbs to tuck into spots g

Thanks.

bulb questions
 

Eegads.. I just remembered I left my unplanted bulbs in the shed. They are
going to be frozen solid with no soil or moisture to protect them.... Do I
bring them indoors just long enough to pot them up or what? Anyone ever
recover these kinds of forgotten bulbs?
DKat
"madgardener" wrote in message
...

"C" wrote in message
...
A friend bought too many tulip, daffodil, hyacinth, etc, bulbs last fall
and never got them planted. They have been stored in the basement and
are
beginning to sprout.

Solution?

Can we plant them in potting soil and expect them to bloom this spring?

Yes, plant them about 4-5 inches in the pots of potting soil and put the
pots outside in a sunny spot to finish up the winter. You can even put
mulch
around the pots and on top if you want to. The emerging shoots will be
fine.

If we let the plants do their thing, can we dig them up and relocate
them
to the garden and expect then to give us many more years of growth and
beauty?

The tulips will bloom again next year if you give them a little bulb food
and when you plant them in the ground, mix in some small pea gravel. Good
drainage is important for tulips. You didn't say where you are, but here
in
the southeast, not all tulips return after the third year. But with the
huge
variety of bulbs available now, a lot of them do. Once they bloom in the
pots, clip off the blossoms, leave the leaves alone, and plug the soil and
bulbs and all into places in your garden, planting them two inches deeper
in
the ground than in the pots. Next year they will return at the proper
time.
Come fall, sprinkle a little bulb food where you have them planted and it
will feed them and ready them for next spring.

This is not exactly like forcing bulbs. There must be a way to salvage
them before considering the composter.

Do the above, you'll have neat flowers to enjoy, and once you plant them,
let them do their cycle where they die back by summer and you'll be
pleasantly surprised when they pop back up next spring at the right time.
Mark the spot so you'll know where they are come fall when you give them
granulated bulb food, though. It helps.

madgardener whose done that very thing with her extra bulbs and is what
I'm
doing with the extra's I planted in those three window boxes a few weeks
ago. I can't wait'! and after they're done, I will have these 36 inch
plugs of all sorts of bulbs to tuck into spots g

Thanks.

bulb questions
 

"D Kat" wrote in message
t...
Eegads.. I just remembered I left my unplanted bulbs in the shed. They
are
going to be frozen solid with no soil or moisture to protect them.... Do I
bring them indoors just long enough to pot them up or what? Anyone ever
recover these kinds of forgotten bulbs?
DKat

don't panic, go out to the shed and retrieve those bulbs and gently mash
them a little. If they're soft, but still kinda firm, plant them anyway in
pots of soil and put them outside to finish up the winter. If they're moldy,
toss them. You could bring one in the house to thaw and cut it in half to
see if there is a green center. If there is, you've pushed the envelope and
can plant them in soil now for a late bloom. I've done this several times.
Some survive, others didn't. It's just something we have to deal with.
Better to plant them in pots of soil and see if they emerge than in the
ground unless your's isn't frozen. Which I suspect it is. Yes, bring them
indoors and pot them up. Let me know how they do or don't come spring.
madgardener who has lost lots of bulbs over the last 20 years..........g

bulb questions
 

"D Kat" wrote in message
t...
Eegads.. I just remembered I left my unplanted bulbs in the shed. They
are
going to be frozen solid with no soil or moisture to protect them.... Do I
bring them indoors just long enough to pot them up or what? Anyone ever
recover these kinds of forgotten bulbs?
DKat

don't panic, go out to the shed and retrieve those bulbs and gently mash
them a little. If they're soft, but still kinda firm, plant them anyway in
pots of soil and put them outside to finish up the winter. If they're moldy,
toss them. You could bring one in the house to thaw and cut it in half to
see if there is a green center. If there is, you've pushed the envelope and
can plant them in soil now for a late bloom. I've done this several times.
Some survive, others didn't. It's just something we have to deal with.
Better to plant them in pots of soil and see if they emerge than in the
ground unless your's isn't frozen. Which I suspect it is. Yes, bring them
indoors and pot them up. Let me know how they do or don't come spring.
madgardener who has lost lots of bulbs over the last 20 years..........g

bulb questions
 

"D Kat" wrote in message
t...
Eegads.. I just remembered I left my unplanted bulbs in the shed. They
are
going to be frozen solid with no soil or moisture to protect them.... Do I
bring them indoors just long enough to pot them up or what? Anyone ever
recover these kinds of forgotten bulbs?
DKat

don't panic, go out to the shed and retrieve those bulbs and gently mash
them a little. If they're soft, but still kinda firm, plant them anyway in
pots of soil and put them outside to finish up the winter. If they're moldy,
toss them. You could bring one in the house to thaw and cut it in half to
see if there is a green center. If there is, you've pushed the envelope and
can plant them in soil now for a late bloom. I've done this several times.
Some survive, others didn't. It's just something we have to deal with.
Better to plant them in pots of soil and see if they emerge than in the
ground unless your's isn't frozen. Which I suspect it is. Yes, bring them
indoors and pot them up. Let me know how they do or don't come spring.
madgardener who has lost lots of bulbs over the last 20 years..........g

bulb questions
 

"John Catron" wrote in message
...

"D Kat" wrote in message
t...
Eegads.. I just remembered I left my unplanted bulbs in the shed. They
are
going to be frozen solid with no soil or moisture to protect them.... Do
I
bring them indoors just long enough to pot them up or what? Anyone ever
recover these kinds of forgotten bulbs?
DKat

don't panic, go out to the shed and retrieve those bulbs and gently mash
them a little. If they're soft, but still kinda firm, plant them anyway in
pots of soil and put them outside to finish up the winter. If they're
moldy,
toss them. You could bring one in the house to thaw and cut it in half to
see if there is a green center. If there is, you've pushed the envelope
and
can plant them in soil now for a late bloom. I've done this several
times.
Some survive, others didn't. It's just something we have to deal with.
Better to plant them in pots of soil and see if they emerge than in the
ground unless your's isn't frozen. Which I suspect it is. Yes, bring them
indoors and pot them up. Let me know how they do or don't come spring.
madgardener who has lost lots of bulbs over the last 20 years..........g

Darn it, Marilyn, you need Barb to nag you into getting those bulbs you
bought planted! Send me a note the next time you purchase fall/spring bulbs,
and I'll put you on her nag line. I guarantee that you'll get them in the
ground. It hasn't failed for me. VBG

John